The present invention relates to direct current (DC) power supplies, and more particularly to a DC power supply which uses the output of solid state laser diodes coupled into high voltage arrays of photocells to convert low voltage DC power to high voltage DC power.
A widely used method for producing high voltage DC power is to convert the power from a low voltage power DC source to high voltage by a device known as an inverter. With this type of device, low voltage DC power is converted to alternating current (AC) power by an oscillator circuit and then is transformed to high voltage AC power by a transformer. The AC power is converted to DC power by a rectifier and filtering circuit.
A disadvantage with inverters is that the AC circuitry can radiate unwanted electromagnetic radiation which can interfere with other circuits if not properly shielded. However, such shielding adds weight and expense to high voltage supplies. The weight and volume of the transformer and electromagnetic shielding are disadvantageous for applications where minimum weight and volume are desired such as in aircraft or satellites. Thus, there is a need for a high voltage power supply which can be made very light and compact, and which does not produce electromagnetic interference.